Text Size

BIG ELECTION WEEK FOR EDU-WONKS: Tuesday’s primary day in several states where education has surfaced as a strong theme. A scorecard:

— The superintendent’s race in California has turned into quite a brawl. Incumbent Tom Torlakson is pushing hard to top 50 percent of the vote and thereby win another term outright, avoiding a November runoff. But he’s facing a tough challenge from charter school administrator Marshall Tuck, who has won the endorsement of every major newspaper in the state. Torlakson has been aided by more than $4 million in union spending, mostly from the California Teachers Association. Tuck, who is running as a reformer, has benefited from more than $1.5 million in spending by business interests.

— In South Dakota, challenger Lora Hubbard has made overturning Common Core (and Obamacare) the centerpiece of her long-shot campaign to wrest the Republican nomination from Gov. Dennis Daugaard, who supports the standards. He’s expected to win handily.

— The same dynamic is playing out in Iowa, where challenger Tom Hoefling has urged GOP voters to back him in the gubernatorial primary in order to stop the “Common Core takeover of our schools.” The incumbent, Gov. Terry Branstad, is expected to win.

— Meanwhile, candidates for South Carolina superintendent are duking it out in advance of their June 10 primary. They’ve clashed over Common Core, creationism and legalizing pot (to raise money for schools). One candidate, the widow of Republican operative Lee Atwater, even boasts the endorsement of former President George H.W. Bush. A primer: http://bit.ly/Skt9X1.

GOOD MORNING, IT’S MONDAY, JUNE 2. Welcome to Morning Education. Maggie Severns here, filling in for Caitlin Emma today. Ken Jennings began his record-breaking 74-day winning streak on Jeopardy! 10 years ago today. The “Final Jeopardy” clue that eventually took Jennings down was easier than many he correctly answered on past episodes: “Most of this firm's 70,000 seasonal white-collar employees work only four months a year.” Send your tips to Caitlin Emma at cemma@politico.com and @caitlinzemma. Email me at mseverns@politico.com and @maggieseverns. Events go to educalendar@politicopro.com. And follow us on Twitter at @morning_edu and @POLITICOPro.

CODING FOR PRIVACY: The nonprofit group Code.org, which provides free computer science curricula and teacher training, has a contract with Chicago Public Schools that contains language that suggests Code.org will be collecting heaps of personal data on students. That includes disabilities, family income, after-school activities, foster-care status, grades and test scores all linked to their names, birthdates and student IDs. The contract explains in detail how such confidential data will be handled and allows it to be released to third parties with the school board’s written consent. Such language has alarmed parents and privacy advocates. But Code.org CEO Hadi Partovi tells Morning Education it’s all a misunderstanding.

— Partovi shared a new privacy policy http://bit.ly/1o7Yoi4 and revised contract language http://bit.ly/1kucPOs that aim to make clear Code.org never has — and never will — handle confidential student data. Some partner districts have agreed to share anonymous assessment data, stripped of student names, with the Center for Elementary Mathematics and Science Education at the University of Chicago, which will aggregate it to evaluate the computer science program. But Code.org will not handle student records directly. For their part, Chicago officials have not yet decided what data, if any, to share. New York City has decided not to share any student information at all, officials said.

— Partovi said the old contract language was elastic because Code.org staff hadn’t taken time to think through what type of data it might want, so districts cut and pasted boilerplate from old contracts. The new documents are much more specific. But they may not be the last word: The last section of the 10-page privacy notice states that “Code.org is in a period of rapid and significant change” — and advises users to check the website frequently for changes in policy.

UNCOMMON LOBBYING: The Home School Legal Defense Association is urging members from across the country to pepper Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin with calls urging her to sign a bill scrapping the Common Core. “There is no need to identify yourself as a homeschooler, but you may wish to in order to show the breadth of opposition to the Common Core,” the group instructs. Homeschoolers, of course, can adopt their own curriculum, so they might seem an unlikely bunch to get upset about the Common Core. But HSLDA warns that they will effectively be forced into following the standards now that the SAT is aligned to them. The group says a rejection in Oklahoma “would be a huge momentum boost” to the cause.

CHILD MIGRANT FIGURES HIGHER THAN EXPECTED: As of Friday, the Office of Management and Budget estimates that the cost of caring for unaccompanied minors picked up while crossing the U.S.-Mexico border could hit $2.3 billion next year — more than double the figure in this spring’s president’s budget. It will fall to the Department of Health and Human Services to care for the growing number of children being picked up near the border — and the extra costs will presumably be absorbed into the Labor-HHS-Education budget. More from POLITICO’s David Rogers: http://politi.co/1rznc8y.

** America needs a skilled workforce to fill millions of new jobs being created in high-demand fields like nursing and computer technology. DeVry Education Group will help.

DeVry Group institutions provide programs for many of today’s most in-demand jobs. And our flexible, career-oriented education meets the needs of today’s nontraditional students. http://bit.ly/1hB4wz9 **

OBAMA: POLLUTION REGS “FOR THE SAKE OF ALL OUR KIDS”: The Obama administration will release new EPA greenhouse gas restrictions for power plants today. The president focused on the impact climate change and air pollution will have on later generations in his weekly address Saturday, which he delivered after visiting children in the hospital who were being treated for asthma and other breathing problems. More from Pro Energy's Darren Goode: http://politico.pro/SlSsrq.

— As the president weighs his legacy and his future after the White House, Obama has been thinking about his influence on young African-American men and boys and speaking with the Mourning Family Foundation about their work. Much, much more on Obama’s second term from POLITICO’s Carrie Burdoff Brown and Jennifer Epstein: http://politi.co/1u6x5Zk.

WHERE WOMEN MOVE UP IN STEM: Master’s programs that employ the most women in STEM leadership positions also grant the most degrees to women in those fields, researchers from the University of Kansas and University of Alabama found. But while a high percentage of women in the field on campus was the strongest predictor of high female degree attainment, researchers didn’t find any significant predictors in the computer science or engineering disciplines. The report: http://politico.pro/1gxOAic.

— The Obama administration announced a number of STEM initiatives last week, including a $35 million grant competition aimed at STEM teacher training, a major expansion for STEM AmeriCorps and a national STEM mentoring effort through a partnership with seven cities. More: http://politico.pro/1wggmEH.

LAWMAKERS URGE E-RATE UPDATE: A bipartisan group of nearly 50 lawmakers will send a letter to FCC Commissioner Tom Wheeler and the rest of the commission later today that prescribes several fixes to the E-Rate program. “Technology has dramatically changed since the E-rate program was established 18 years ago, and the funding priorities must reflect the changing nature of the Internet, so that our classrooms and students have access to today’s technology,” write members of the New Democrat Coalition and several Republicans. Among their proposals: Focus the program on broadband services. Ensure that schools and libraries are paying for the best services at the lowest price. Increase transparency and accountability for the program. Simplify the application process. Ensure that program rules result in stability. The FCC is expected take up much-anticipated consideration of the program in the coming months and issue new rules in time for the new school year. The letter: http://politico.pro/1m3QrYG.

SEXUAL VIOLENCE ROUND TABLES CONTINUE: Sen. Claire McCaskill hosts her second of three round tables today, focusing this time on institutional Title IX policies and federal enforcement of the law, to gather input for her upcoming legislation to combat sexual violence on college campuses. The discussion will take place at 2:30 p.m. in SD-106 of the Dirksen Senate building.

CAMPUSES GOING GREEN: More than 680 higher ed institutions have joined the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on their campuses. Many are already getting to work. This month, for instance, Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa launched a campus-wide retrofit aimed at cutting the carbon footprint in half — and saving about $220,000 a year in energy bills. The project is organized by Honeywell Building Solutions. To keep the momentum going, college presidents plan to gather for a summit in Boston this fall. For details: http://bit.ly/1k7iQAb.

REPORT ROLL CALL

— IBM describes best practices government can adopt for accommodating skyrocketing job growth in the science, technology, engineering, math and medical fields. IBM Center for the Business of Government: http://bit.ly/1tjlvHK.

LIVETOMORROW–POLITICO Pro eHealth covering all of latest policy developments on electronic health records, telemedicine, health apps, federal health IT and more — that you need to do your job. Plus, Pros get exclusive access to instant intelligence, smart analysis, customized content and Pro-only events. For more info, contact us today at Edu.Info@politicopro.com.

** America needs a skilled workforce to fill millions of new jobs being created in high-demand fields like nursing and computer technology. DeVry Education Group will help.

DeVry Group institutions provide programs for many of today’s most in-demand jobs. And our flexible, career-oriented education meets the needs of today’s nontraditional students. http://bit.ly/1hB4wz9 **